Orders to seek location for bridge in Remagen area
506 views · Published 24 March 2009 · 0:41 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: Alan Heath · 2009 · Travel & Events
SEE MY HISTORY GROUP ON FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alan-Heaths-History-Page/173472422695696 The Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen was a railway bridge across the Rhine in Germany, connecting the villages of Remagen and Erpel between two ridge lines of hills flanking the river. Remagen is situated about 20km south of Bonn. The bridge was built by Grün & Bilfinger between 1916 and 1919 to connect the Right Rhine Railway, the Left Rhine Railway and the Ahrtalbahn (German) to facilitate transport to the Western Front. It was a key element of a planned strategic railway that was to start in Neuss, cross the Rhine at Remagen and connect with the Ahr Valley railway that connected with the Eiffel railway that has lines into Luxembourg and France. The advantage of such a line was that troops and supplies could be transported to the Western Front from the Ruhr industrial area without having to go through the busy rail centres of Cologne or Düsseldorf. However, by the time World War I ended, the line between Neuss and Remagen had not been completed and never was. This is also the reason why the bridge at Remagen was not rebuilt after World War II. Designed by Karl Wiener, it was 325 meters long, with two rail lines and a walkway. It was one of three bridges built to improve rail links between Germany and France during World War I, the other two being the Hindenburg Bridge at Bingen and Urmitz Bridge near Koblenz. This was one of the four bridges guarded during the Third United States Army occupation at the end of World War I. The bridge was captured at around 16:30 on 7 March 1945 by the US army and became the first bridgehead across the Rhine. Both sides then engaged in a race to reinforce the area which ultimately was won by the American who had much greater resources. The Anericans captured the railway tunnel in the early hours of the following morning by passing over the hill and taking it from the rear. Following the capture of the bridge, the Germans made frantic efforts to destroy it. They were hindered by weak forces in the area and the Erpeler Ley hill which actually protected the bridge from attack from the east. Without the possibility of artillery spotting, attacks were much more difficult. Several attacks were made by the Luftwaffe with one bomb scoring a hit but failing to detonate. Other attacks included the use of V2s and frogmen. In other films I describe parts of the battle, why the bridge was not blown etc.. I would like to recommend the excellent 1968 - 9 film the Bridge at Remagen which is historically very accurate although names have been changed. My channel is one of the most prolific from Poland, although not amongst the most visited. With almost one film per day, one may be forgiven for thinking I do nothing else but I do have a day job as well. I have produced around 1,000 original films, most in English but also in Polish, French, Italian, Spanish and the occasional hint of German and Hebrew. My big interest in life is travel and history but I have also placed films on other subjects Please feel free to ask questions in the public area or to comment on things you disagree with. Sometimes there are mistakes because I speak without preparation. If I see the mistakes myself, I make this clear in the text. Please also leave a star rating! There are a number of films here on the packaging industry. This is because I am the publisher of Central and Eastern European Packaging -- http://www.ceepackaging.com - the international platform for the packaging industry in this region focusing on the latest innovations, trends, design, branding, legislation and environmental issues with in-depth profiles of major industry achievers. Most people may think packaging pretty boring but it possibly effects your life more than you really imagine! Central and Eastern European Packaging examines the packaging industry throughout this region, but in particular in the largest regional economies which are Russia, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Austria. That is not to say that the other countries are forgotten, they are not, but obviously there is less going on. However the fact that there are so many travel related films here is not from holidays but from business trips attending trade fairs around the region. Every packaging trade fair is a new excuse to make another film!
